Paul's New Adventures
by huikyeong
Summary: Paul heads to the Unova region to become stronger and compete in the Unova league. However, he is confronted with Pokemon, attacks and even technology he's never seen before. Can a certain aggressive trainer from Veilstone City survive in the ever changing Unova region?
1. A New Venture Awaits

_It was a cold Saturday morning and it was beginning to snow. The cold air circulated through the night as the streets of Castelia City were hustling with joy. People left and right, bundled up in puffy jackets, carrying items that they bought from the various stores dotted around the city. However, deep inside a dark alleyway, a shadow of a tall man with long flowing hair could be seen..._

 _"Is it ready?" The figure asked in a low toned voice as he raised his wrist._

 _…._

 _…._

 _"Perfect!"_

 _The sound of a loud evil laugh bounces off the walls of the alleyway._

 _"This time, I shall not fail!"_

—-

"We are clear for landing," a male voice said over the intercom as the plane was beginning to slowly descend.

It was during the afternoon as there were many people on board the flight, all going to the Unova region for various reasons. Some for vacation reasons, some to visit their families, some to move and some people were there to discover new Pokemon and go on their own adventure. Many trainers often come from different regions to strengthen their skills and become better well rounded trainers.

It was especially true for one trainer in particular. He sat in the front of the plane with a white sling back, looking out of the window. The young man ran his fingers through his short purple hair as he smirked at the city landscape outside the window.

"Let's see if I could win _this_ region's league," the young man said to himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt and began to stand up. "Let's not have a repeat of last time…"

As he stretched his body from sitting for five hours, the young man kept thinking about his Sinnoh league battle and how intense it was. The battles against his greatest rival was his most personal battle to date, however that battle took place two years ago. The purple haired man shook his head sideways to chase all thoughts of that day out of his head as he sat back down. He still had respect for his former rival, however, he did not want to think about him anymore.

A vibration could be felt underneath the seats as the plane's wheels were scraping against the runway at breakneck speed. As the cargo was speeding through the runway towards the pier, the passengers, including the mysterious trainer all tightened their seatbelts and held on to any Pokemon or lose items they had on their laps.

"Alright everyone," the same male voice as before said over the intercom as the plane stopped at the pier. "This is your pilot speaking. Welcome to Nuvema Town! Please exit the cargo in an orderly fashion."

 _'Nuvema Town eh?'_ the young man thought as he stepped off the plane and onto the pier. The sky was clear and the chilly air turned warmer. The heat from the sun was beating down harshly as the citizens shielded themselves with umbrellas and held up misting fans. There were many people crowding the pier as people were bumping into each other by accident. As the young man walked forward into the crowd of walkers, he head a sort of familiar voice call out to him from behind.

"Hey, Paul!" A girl's voice yelled out from behind. "Come on, Marnie, say hello!"

"Hm?" Paul turned around to see a girl with long dark blonde hair running towards him. This girl was sporting a black cap with a red pokeball on the front, a plain white tank top and a green mini skirt. She was with another girl who was shorter than her with light red hair worn in two pigtails. Her friend was struggling to keep up with her as she ran towards the confused young man.

"It's me, Jen! We used to be best friends in trainer's school," the blonde exclaimed. "Talk about a small world, I never thought I would see you in Unova…"

"Um… Jen, who is he?" the redheaded girl asked as she lowered one eyebrow in confusion.

"You see, I'm from Veilstone City and we went to trainers school there when we were younger," Jen explained. "it used to be a school but now it is an arcade."

 _'She looks familiar to me, but it's been so long ago…'_ Paul thought as he looked at both girls in silence. He slightly turned his body as a signal to try to step away from them. Even though she was his friend in trainer's school, it was still a very long time ago. Things have changed since then, thus, Paul didn't really care about making friends.

"I know you," Paul said gruffly as he folded his arms. "However, do not think that I am going to get all friendly with you. We may have been friends in the past but as of now, I don't care to be friendly with anyone. It is a waste of time."

With that, the purple haired young man started to walk towards the crowd with both hands in his pockets. However as he was approaching the main road, in the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash a white light and the clicking sound of a poke ball opening. That was enough to startle Paul he he jumped back and froze in his tracks. When he turned to his left, he noticed that one of his Pokemon had burst out of their poke ball on their own. It was a humanoid Pokemon covered in bright yellow fur and black stripes. The pattern located in the back resembled a power outlet and the two short antennas on its head was sparking a gold electrical current.

"Electivire! Who gave you permission to be out of your poke ball?!" Paul asked in a frustrated tone.

Electivire did not acknowledge it's trainer as it just stood there, looking towards the palm trees that were dotting the side of the pier. Paul became even more agitated as he began to walk towards his Pokemon while lowering his eyebrows.

"HELLO! DO YOU EVEN HEAR ME?!" the young man yelled as he looked up at his dazed Pokemon in frustration. "They're just trees. We see them all the time back home. Let's go.."

"Um, Paul… I don't think it's the trees he's interested in," Jen's voice explained as she moved beside the purple haired young man. "He's interested in her…"

The girl proceeded to point towards what appeared to be an electabuzz standing in the shade from one of the trees. Like Paul's electivire, it to was a humanoid Pokemon covered in yellow fur in black stripes. However the fur color on this one was a dark gold instead of a bright yellow. It was also shorter and wasn't as furry. The fur pallet was smoother and had fangs. Also, this electabuzz had a blue bow tied to both antennas and another blue bow tied to a tuft of fur sticking out from the middle of the head, marking this Pokemon to be female.

She stood there with a touch pad in her hands, watching a show. She also had a small pikachu doll at her side and an empty box of what used to be filled with chocolate bars.

"You… like that electabuzz do you?" Paul asked in a sarcastic tone. "She doesn't look like much."

"Hey man, don't be like that!" a low pitched voice shouted out from behind.

 _'Hm?'_ Paul thought to himself as he and the girls turned around to see where the voice was coming from. Coming towards them was another girl, however this girl had short dark brown hair shaped in a bob cut and was wearing a white baggy shirt and black sweatpants that both read "varsity battle tower squad". She came up to the group, with an unreadable smirk on her face while playing around with her watch buttons.

"I wouldn't be talkin' about my electabuzz if I were you," the girl said with attitude. "You don't look like much either…. in fact…. I want to say that I've seen you before."

"You have?" Paul asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah man, I saw you on TV at the Sinnoh league!" she exclaimed as she started to chuckle. "You got your butt kicked by that dude from the boonies. Your name was Peter!"

Upon hearing that Paul started to become enraged as he clenched his fists in anger. Not only was she bringing up how he lost to his past rival but she totally got his name wrong. Such an insult to someone who has already been through the ringer time and time again.

"My name is Paul you dimwit!" The purple haired man said in anger. "I am here to win the Unova league and I will not lose like I did two years ago."

"So...is that electabuzz yours?" Jen asked as she shoved Paul to the side.

"Who, Ellie?" the girl asked in a surprised tone. "Nah, she ain't mine. She belongs to my aunt and lives as a house Pokemon. But I'm babysitting her for today."

The group looked on as Electivire, with two chocolate bars in hand, slowly started to approach Ellie. As he zeroed in on the chocolate bars, Paul quickly brought his grey singback to the front and sure enough, he saw that the side zipper was unzipped. He took off his bag and threw it on the ground in anger. He walked up to the pair with a scowl.

"Why did you take those?" Paul asked Electivire in a loud stern voice. "They were supposed to be for my journey you know!"

Ellie's eyes grew in terror as her eyes met with Paul's. Leaving her stuff behind, she quickly got up and ran towards her temporary trainer, hiding behind her. She shook like a leaf, afraid that the young man was going to hurt her. Paul didn't care that she was afraid as he kept glaring at her from afar.

"I'm sorry," the brown hair girl said apologetically. "Ellie is…. kinda afraid of men at the moment. I need to take her home in a bit anyway. Maybe next time, Electivire."

"Ellie, return!" The girl took out a pink heal ball and pressed it against the electabuzz's head. She was then engulfed by a red light as she returned back to her poke ball safe and sound.

"But first….y'all said y'all were gonna compete in the Unova league, right?" She asked while she looked in Paul's direction.

"Um…yeah?" The trio said in unison.

"Then, y'all must be newbies to this region!" The brown haired girl said in excitement. "The name's Miki… follow me and I'll bring y'all to Professor Jupiter's lab!"

Upon hearing that, the redheaded girl, Marnie, raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Uh, do you mean Professor _Juniper_?"

Miki looked back at the shorter girl with an unreadable expression before turning background gruffly. "Whatever… she's right around the corner, let's go!"


	2. A Rivalry is Born

"Is there a Professor Jupiter up in this joint?" Miki asked in excitement as she forced her way into the building's double doors.

The sound of the doors being forced open and slamming into the walls vibrated through the almost empty laboratory. Even though the front of the lab looked like a miniature hut from the outside, fitting into the scenery of the town, the inside of the lab was very spacious even with the various equipment that dotted certain areas. There were was a row of computers sitting on an elongated desk on each side of the room. Pokemon books were scattered both desks and papers flew in different directions due to the slight wind coming in from the outside.

"I think you might have scared her off," a male voice said from behind. "I mean, I could hear you from far away…"

The group turned around to see a young man, who looked to be around 13 years old, standing in the doorway. He had dark blonde hair, pale grey eyes and was wearing a orange jacket over a blue sweatshirt. He shook his head sideways as he chuckled at the group.

"Let me guess, another new trainer?" Paul asked in a sarcastic tone as he rolled his eyes.

"Tristan? No, he's not new at all," Miki said as she walked over to the blonde haired young man and put one hand on his shoulder. "He's crazy strong. I know, I met him during my travels and we became friends."

"As I told you many times before, the name's Trip…" Trip replied hestentently. "But that's ok. What are you guys doing in Professor Juniper's lab anyway?"

Miki proceeded to walk towards the group, placing herself between Jen and Paul while putting her hand on both their shoulders. "These three trainers need a Pokedex right away. Is Professor Jupiter coming back soon?"

"...Professor _Juniper_ is currently at Chargestone Cave…" Trip said with an edge. "Why don't you give out the 'dexes? They're in the box on the grey moving cart behind you…"

Miki turned around and looked at the grey cart with a large box on the bottom shelf. With a smirk, she ran over to the cart, taking out the heavy box from underneath and setting it on the floor. She grabbed three separate boxes, each containing a medium sized grey device and 5 poke balls.

"I guess Professor Jupiter won't mind…." Miki said as she got up and began to pass the boxes out to the group of trainers. One by one, she passed out the boxes. "one for you, one for you... "

"...and one for you, Your Majesty. It's a pokedex," the girl said in a sarcastic tone as she gave Paul his pokedex.

"Yeah, whatever." Paul said gruffly under his breath as he grabbed the pokeballs and pokedex from the box and slowly started to walk towards the door. "I'm out of here."

"Yo, Peter!" Miki exclaimed as she jumped in front of Paul. "I got way more info to give y'all before you set off on your journey to become a top know-it-all trainer, y'know…"

Trip walked over to stand near the brown haired girl. "You see, this is why we don't like people from the boonies."

Paul stopped dead in his tracks as he began to tense up. Not only was he again being called by a name that wasn't him, but another trainer was insulting him for where he came from. His fists were clenched tightly as he began to have fumes in his eyes. All he wanted was to set off on his journey, however he didn't want to stick around and listen to a useless tutorial he's heard many times before.

"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!" The young man angrily asked as he glared at Trip, not having the energy or the will to address his name being said wrong.

"You're not very smart, aren't you?" The blonde young man asked as he gave a condescending smirk. "You don't seem like a very experienced trainer, just someone who talks too much."

"I wish I could just smack you right now!" Paul said as he raised his voice. "But it's not even worth the energy to do it!"

"Typical of a trainer from the boonies," Trip chucked. "Always resorting to violence. But hey, instead of trying to fight me physically, how about we have a Pokemon battle, one on one…. what do you say?"

Paul took a minute process everything, unclenching his fists in the process. ' _Hm, if I battle this guy and I win, maybe I can show him just how serious I am. However, why do I need to prove myself to him? I'm past that. I'll just battle him just to have him make a fool of himself!'_ His scowl slowly started to turn into a smirk as he raised his left eyebrow.

"Alright, if you want to make a fool out of yourself, then you can be my guest," The young man said with confidence. "The faster we finish, the faster you all can get out of my face."

"Then it's off to the backyard, let's go!" Miki exclaimed as she lead the group to the back of the small laboratory and out the back door.

.~~~~

The battle was about to begin as there was a strong sense of tension in the air. The two young men stared each other down, locked in battle mode. Trip smiled confidently while Paul scowled and clenched his fists tightly. Light chattering amongst the few onlookers can be heard as the battle was about to begin. The battlefield itself was a plain dirt field with a pokeball symbol in the middle and a small set of bleachers on the right side.

"I'm going to be the referee!" Marnie said as she ran off the bleachers and on to the side of the field. "I'm on my journey to become an official Pokemon referee so I need practice."

Upon standing on the referee podium, she pulled out a pokeball from her white tote bag and proceeded to throw it in the air. A burst of light came from the pokeball as the figure of a bipedal Pokemon emerged. By her side was a dark yellow mouse Pokemon with a white underbelly and a small lightning bolt tail. Marnie then knelt down to pick up her Pokemon and place it on her shoulder.

"Rai chuuuu!" cooed the mouse Pokemon as it was waving a red flag.

Upon seeing the mouse Pokemon, Paul reached for his pokedex that was located in the left pocket of his jacket and began to point it at Marnie's Pokemon. A green screen then proceeded to pop with the pokemon's picture while a male robotic voice began to explain the Pokemon's info.

"Raichu, the mouse Pokemon and the evolved form of Pikachu," the pokedex explained. "Its tail discharges electricity into the ground, protecting it from getting shocked."

"Just testing out my dex," Paul said as he put away his pokedex and pulls out a pokeball from his belt. "Now, Electivire, standby for battle!"

Paul threw his pokeball high into the air with confidence. A burst of light came from the ball as Electivire emerged in a combative stance. The thunderbolt Pokemon let out a confident battle cry as he waved his fists.

"Go, Serperior!" Trip yelled as he also threw his pokeball in the air.

That same beam of light came bursting through the ball as the huge snake appeared from the light and coiled itself onto the battlefield. It was a pale green, serpentine Pokémon with narrow red eyes and grass like patterns on the sides. Paul quickly reached for his pokedex and pointed it at Trip's Serperior.

"Serperior, the regal Pokemon and the evolved form of Servine," the pokedex explained. "It can stop its opponents' movements with just a glare. It takes in solar energy and boosts it internally."

"Isn't that nice?" Trip asked with a mocking tone. "You got your serperior lesson for today."

"It has been determined that Paul gets the first move," Marnie announced as her raichu waved the red flag, signaling Paul to make his move. "Now begin!"

"Electivire, use thunder on the battlefield." Paul commanded in an authoritative voice.

Electivire proceeded to shove both of his long tails deep into the ground while mustering all the electrical energy he could. After being shrouded in electricity, he released a massive thunder attack into the ground. The ground began to rumble underneath the competero's feet as large pieces of rock began to fly from up into the air and fell quickly onto the ground.

"Serperior, dodge those!" Trip commanded with confidence.

With style and speed, the regal Pokemon slithered left and right to dodge every rock that made contact with the ground. However, right as the serperior was on the right track, Trip spotted a huge rock that was almost inches above his Pokemon's head. He then smirked at a perfect opportunity to turn this into a counter strike.

"Now Serperior, use dragon tail on that rock!" Trip commanded with a smirk.

Mustering all the energy he could, Serperior's tail began to glow a light blue color. When the time was right, he swung his blue colored tail up above and made contact with the falling rock. The boulder was too tough to break, however, dragon tail's force allowed the rock to fly straight into the opponent's path. Paul quickly registered the attack as he began to scowl and clench his fists.

"Electivire, protect!" Paul demanded in desperation.

However, before Electivire can muster up his energy to make a shield to protect himself from the projectile object, the rock hit him in the middle. The force from the rock was so powerful, that it sent Electivire almost flying backwards and smacked into his trainer. Paul's reaction time was too slow as he could not run away and he and his Pokemon began to fall onto the ground, sliding a few feet. Luckily for him, it was only his left foot that was trapped under Electivire's weight as he was able to wiggle himself out and stand up.

"Electivire, stop fooling around!" Paul said harshly as his heart began to race. "Use brick break now!"

After shaking off the shock from the rock attack, Electivire quickly got on to his feet and began to charge toward his opponent. Narrowing his red eyes, he turned his right hand side ways as if he was about to execute a swift chop.

"Grab it Serperior!" Trip commanded. "Use wrap!"

The regal Pokemon proceeded to quickly move his body away from the oncoming brick break that was about to happen. Using his tail, he proceeded to grab his opponent and held on tightly. The grip was so tight that Electivire could hardly breathe as his face began to turn purple from the suffocation. Paul growled loudly as he was trying to figure out how to get himself out of this situation.

"Now, it's give it the old slam, back to back!" Trip exclaimed confidently as he pumped one fist in the air.

With the suffocated Electivire in his grasp, the grass snake began to raise his tail and then with speed and force, slammed his opponent into the hard ground. He did this repeatedly while the thunderbolt Pokemon was trying his best to break out of wrap's grasp. However, with the repeated slams to the head, it was unsuccessful. Paul's fists were clenched tightly as he was very shocked at what was going on. At this time, Electivire grew to be unconscious from the attacks.

"Alright, that's enough!" Trip said with a edge. "I think we got the message through. Now throw it back!"

Serperior raised his tail and with all his might, he threw the unconscious Electivire against a tree with such force. The force was great enough to almost snap the tree in half. After hitting the tree, Electivire fell face first onto the ground. The silence was lingering as Marnie's raichu went over to the unconscious Pokemon.

"Chu?" Raichu tilted it's head sideways while placing a hand on Electivire's head.

"I guess I don't need to say it but...Trip is the winner." Marnie said with a monotone.

"Great job, Serperior!" Trip praised as he returned his Pokemon back to his pokeball.

Hanging his head in defeat, Paul took out his pokeball and returned his Pokemon back at once. After that, he then looked at the pokeball itself and said "We lost because your reaction time was too slow. I'll deal with you later Electivire."

"I guess your Electivire was ok," Trip said sympathetically while crossing his arms. "However, it's trainer was awful. Polish up your skills, ok?"

As Trip began to walk back into the laboratory, he turned around at the group one more time and smiled.

"Miki, I'll see you at the battle tower!" he said with determination as he waved and left.

"Sure thing, Tristan!" Miki replied. "I look forward to seeing you there!".

Clenching his fists tightly, Paul began to run off through the laboratory's back door. He ran quickly out the lab and on to the road that starts Route One. His eyes were close, not caring to open them as he kept on running through the shortened route. ' _How could I have lost? Especially to_ _him_ _. I will not lose to him, ever again!'_ The young man kept running until a voice called out to him.

"Paul, wait up!" a familiar voice called out to him followed by the blabbering of what sounded like an electabuzz.

Paul stopped and turned his head slightly to the left, just enough to see who was coming after him. It was Miki and Ellie, the electabuzz, was clinging to her shoulder. However, this time, she has a dark blue boulder she was carrying with her left hand. She was trying her hardest to catch up with him. Paul stood there as he allowed the girl to catch up to him. He was not at all interested in conversing with her, however he wanted to allow her to say what she wanted to say before he left.

"If you got something to say to me, say it!" he snapped.

"Paul, I just wanted to apologize," she started to say. "I know that I can be a bit of a smart aleck but I didn't mean to give you a hard time. I came here to give you this."

She took the blue boulder and began to present it to Paul. He turned around and stared at the rock. This rock was different. It was roundly shaped but it also had a dark blue leaf on the top of it. He took the rock from her hands and further inspected it.

"That's a fossil. A plume fossil to be exact," Miki explained. "it was burning a hole in my bag and when I saw how determined you are, I figured that you could make use out of it."

"So… what is so special about this fossil?" Paul asked as he began to put the fossil in his grey slingback.

"If you take it to this one guy in Accumula Town, he can resurrect it for you," she happily explained. "There used to be someone who does this in Nacrene City, the gym leader's assistant or whatnot? Yeah, but they have been gone for sometime. They can resurrect your fossil into a Pokemon."

' _So this turns into a Pokemon eh?'_ Paul thought to himself as he turned his head and looked straight ahead. The warm wind started to pick up as he felt it blowing on his neck. He wiped a little bit of the sweat that was building up on his forehead while brining the front of his purple hair back. ' _Even though she was very annoying and she isn't really worth my time, I am in a new region and I don't know where this Accumula Town is. I'll just have her guide me there.'_

"I hate having to ask for help, especially from someone like you," Paul started to say. "However, I have no choice. Bring me to this Accumula Town."

"Well… even though I have to get back to battle tower, I have time for a little side trip," the trainer said with excitement. "First the Pokemon center, then the fossil."

So with his first battle in the Unova region behind him, Paul heads to his next destination, Accumula Town to resurrect his fossil and then, it is off to his first Unova region gym challenge.


	3. A New Battler

After his Pokemon have been healed, Paul waited outside the Pokemon Center for Miki to join him. He didn't really care about what she was doing, however he started to get impatient as he heavily sighed in frustration. ' _If she doesn't get here, I am leaving'_ he thought to himself. Five minutes later, a sound of the automatic doors opening could be heard as well as a familiar voice. Paul impatiently turned around and saw that Miki had finally came from the Pokemon Center, smiles and all.

"Alrighty, I sent Ellie to my aunt so now we are ready to go," she said as she began to walk forward on the sidewalk.

"Well it took you long enough," Paul coldly commented while following his unwanted companion. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Like I said, we're gonna resurrect your Pokemon," she replied as she kept walking. "The dude's lab is like a hop, skip and a jump away."

The two of them walked on the sidewalk, being careful not to bump into anyone that was passing by. On the grassy area, was someone who was playing a violin very smoothly while others were sitting on the available benches. Accumula Town had many townhouses which towered over the regular houses. It was a very small and quiet town, however it still managed to be crowded.

"Well, here we are!" Miki exclaimed as she pointed to a flight of stairs leading to what appeared to be a house. "Come on!"

Paul shook his head in annoyance as he followed her up the short flight of stairs. From there, they headed to the front door of the small red and blue house where Miki knocked on the door. They waited a few minutes until the jiggling of the door knob could be heard as the door opened. They were soon both greeted by a tall man with short blonde hair, a blue crescent moon headpiece and a long white jacket covering a striking blue outfit.

"Yo! It's Dr. Colress!" Miki said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "What's going on bro?"

"Oh, same old same old," Colress replied before looking at Paul. "Who's your buddy?"

"He's not my buddy," she corrected him quickly. "He's someone who I am helping out. His name's Paul."

"Well, Paul, it's nice to meet you," Colress said as he extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Colress, a scientist."

However, instead of shaking his hand, Paul bowed in respect before opening his grey slingback and taking out the plume fossil from earlier. "Same to you," he responded. "I have this plume fossil and I was told that you can resurrect it, am I correct?"

Colress took the fossil from Paul's hands to further inspect it. It was indeed a real plume fossil: a smooth blue rock with the etching of a maple leaf on the top. He signaled the duo to follow him in as he took the fossil to his desk near the kitchen area. The hallway was rather plain as it didn't really have any pictures or any artifacts hanging up. No potted plants could be seen either. The living room was also very plain, however, it was adorned with machines and parts.

"Of course, I can resurrect your fossil," Colress said as he headed into the kitchen and took out a device which resembles a microwave. "With this machine of course!"

Paul looked closely at the device as he rolled his eyes. It didn't just resemble a microwave, it was a microwave. Except, it had two antennas on the top shaped like lightbulbs. He gave Miki a look of disapproval as he shook his head no.

"So wait," Paul started to say as he faced Miki. "So you brought me to this weird man's house, so that he can "resurrect" my Pokemon using a _microwave_? You really are pathetic…"

Miki leaned over to Paul discreetly "You know blondes and their microwaves," she whispered while chuckling.

"Well then, are you a scientist?" Colress asked with a smile. "If so, please enlighten me, Dr. Paul…"

"Could you just shut up and resurrect my Pokemon?" Paul asked in an agitated tone. "I'm already wasting my time here."

Colress nodded his head with a smile as he opened the device door and placed the fossil inside. From there, he connected a tube of what appeared to be pink gas on to the side of the device. He plugged the device on to the kitchen outlet and began to turn on the switch in the front. From there, the restoration device started to buzz as the lights flickered off and on. The buzzing on the machine grew louder and louder and the lights are brighter and bright.

"We are now reaching critical levels!" Colress exclaimed excitedly. "I am brillant!"

After five minutes of activity, the buzzing stopped and the lights stopped flashing. Smoke started to build up in front of the device as it cooled down for a few. Colress slowly opened the door to the device as the smoke cleared drastically. Inside the device stood a colorful bird Pokemon. Its' head was red and blue and the body was yellow. The tips of the wings had three claws each and it had a loud shriek. Paul's jaw dropped as he immediately took out his Pokedex from his left pocket and began to scan the Pokemon.

"Archen, the first bird Pokemon," the voice on the Pokedex started to explain. "It was revived from an ancient fossil. Not able to fly, it lived in treetops and hopped from one branch to another."

"So… you're telling me that this Archen was the first bird Pokemon to ever exist?" Paul asked while he turned towards Miki.

"Yeah, they've been around alright," she explained. "That's why people are interested in resurrecting them, to find out more about them. That do you think, Paul? Not bad for your first Unova region Pokemon, right?"

' _Hm, let's check you out'_ he thought as he scanned the archen once again, however using the screen to switch over the Pokedex's advanced functions. Once on the advanced screen, he selected the "check moves" option.

"Archen knows the following moves," the Pokedex explained. "dragon pulse, ancientpower, acrobatics, quick guard and aqua tail."

"Hm, this archen could be useful to me," Paul said while anaylzing the movepool. "I think I'll keep it."

Paul pulled out an empty pokeball from his slingback and pointed it toward the bird Pokemon. Once done that, it was then engulfed by a red light as it went inside the pokeball. He then put the ball inside his jacket pocket and began to exit the house without saying anything. ' _Now that I got my Pokemon, I can leave. I've had enough of this city and I've had enough of these weird people'_ he thought as he made his way out the front door and down the staircase. ' _Now, it is on to my gym battle'_.

"Paul, wait!"

The voice of his unwanted companion was following him as he tried to make his way out of town. Paul clenched his fists in annoyance as he stopped dead in his tracks, allowing the girl to catch up to him. However, this time, he sharply turned to her instead of having his back to her.

"What?!" Paul hissed loudly, obviously annoyed at being slowed down.

"Y'know, that was a little rude walking out without saying thank you," Miki said as she crossed her arms. "But that is old news. I have some stuff to give you on your journey."

She pulled out a large blue watch from her pocket. However, this watch was different. It had a screen which looked like it was made for video calling. Paul grimaced at the device as Miki placed it around his wrist.

"That is an Xtransceiver," she explained. "You can call up to four people at a time. You can also play games on it if you are bored. I already programmed some people in your xtransceiver: Jen, Marnie, myself, and some of the local battle clubs."

"Look, I don't talk to Jen or Marnie," Paul snapped as he pulled his wrist away. "And I'm certainly not going to be asking you for anything. So this device is pretty much useless to me."

"Well, you never know, Paul," Miki started to explain. "That Jen seems to be ahead of the game so she might be able to help you. I'll try and help you as well if you needed it. Remember, I _am_ a native of this region while you're from the boonies…"

' _Boonies'_ Paul clenched his fists tightly as he began to shake in anger. Hearing that word come out of her mouth made him infuriated as he growled loudly. Thoughts of his defeat to Trip started to resurface. How his Electivire, who was Paul's strongest Pokemon, was no match for Trip's Serperior. How Trip insulted him because he wasn't as high class as he was. '" _You see, this is why we don't like people from the boonies.'_ echoed through his mind.

"SHUT UP! Stop trying to act like your friend Trip because it doesn't make you sound tough!" Paul yelled. "You sound pathetic and you're an even bigger waste of my time!"

Miki smiled as she looked into Paul's eyes. She was not at all afraid of his facial expressions or his tone of voice. She was not rattled one bit. Paul unclenched his fists as he proceeded to put both of his hands in his pockets. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. He became less tense and more calm the longer he closed his eyes. ' _How could she be so calm? She seems unaffected by what I said. But still, she shouldn't say those things around me'_ he thought as he opened his eyes.

"Paul, instead getting frustrated with Tristan, I would use that energy in your gym battle," Miki suggested. "Look, you are right that we do act alike. But I've known him since I was a ten year old trainer myself. I started my journey before he did but still, it's been six years."

"I understand," the young man said. "Look, where's my next gym battle?"

"In Aspertia City," she replied. "The gym leader there uses normal-type Pokemon. However you will need to go back to Nuvema Town to fly there."

With a new Pokemon in hand, Paul heads back to Nuvema town, where his first gym battle awaits.


	4. Paul's Jitters

The boat ride to Aspertia City was long as Paul quickly got off the boat and proceeded to head towards the Pokemon Center in full speed. Dusk was starting to set in and he barely had any energy to train his new Pokemon. All he wanted to do was go to sleep for the night. After obtaining his room key from the nurse, he went down the short hallway and into the first room available. After shutting the door behind him, he quickly took the Xtransceiver from his pocket and threw it on the brown nightstand that was located next to a plain looking bed with white sheets.

' _I guess this is it. The real journey starts tomorrow'_ he thought as he began to throw his slingback on to the floor along with his outer jacket and undershirt. He then got down on the ground in the plank position and proceeded to do push-ups. For Paul, it was a good way to not only keep him physically strong but to mentally prepare him for whatever came his way. ' _But then again, what am I getting so nervous about? I've traveled through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and my home region and competed in all of their leagues! I already know the process. Just catch strong Pokemon and I will be fine!'_.

However, after doing thirty five pushups, Paul stopped himself as he held himself in the plank position. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and onto the floor as his heart began to beat fast. ' _However, I know it won't be easy. The lifestyle here is a lot different than back in Veilstone, that's for sure. I wonder, how am I going to survive here?'_ he thought as he resumed to do more pushups. While he was doing so, he looked up at the nightstand where he had threw his Xtransceiver. He grimaced at it for a few seconds before looking down at the floor. ' _I guess… every once in a while, I should call that annoying brat. She might be helpful to me when it comes to navigating the city life. However…'_

After doing seventy five push ups, Paul quickly got up from the floor and looked up at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought. He thought about his unwanted tour guide and how she said that she worked at the battle tower. He also remember how even her clothes said "battle tower" on them as well. ' _What is this battle tower she speaks of and where can I find it? Maybe… I could grow stronger. However… what if she is a trainer there? She could be useful to me if that were the case. I could stomach her constant smiling and retorts for me being stronger, no doubt!'_ Paul then proceeded to crawl into bed and closed his eyes for the night.

~:~

" _Now, it's give it the old slam, back to back!"_

 _Paul panicked as he felt his throat closing up. Those words replayed in his mind as he saw his Electivire's face become bright blue from the suffocation. The tighter Trip's Serperior wrapped his foe, the more Paul's throat closed up from the anxiousness._

" _Alright, that's enough! I think we got the message through. Now throw it back!"_

 _Like a worn out basketball, the grass snake dropped Electivire's limp body on the floor. Paul could see that his Pokemon wasn't breathing. Breaking out into a cold sweat, Paul proceeded to run towards his unconscious Pokemon._

" _Electivire was ok, but his trainer was awful. Just awful. Go back to the boonies and relearn the basics, will ya?"_

 _Trip's dark chucking could be heard as Paul grew paler and paler by the minute. He tried shaking Electivire to try to wake him up, however it was no use. His throat completely closed up as he was struggling to breathe himself. He started to black out…_

~:~

"Ah!"

Paul quickly woke up from his sleep and sat up on his bed. He was breathing quickly as he was trying to catch his breath. He quickly looked around the room, it was mostly dark with hints of light coming from the outside streetlights and everything was still the same. Except, it was two thirty in the morning. Shaking all thoughts of sleep from his mind, Paul got up from bed and proceeded to reach into his jacket pocket to grab a pokeball. From there, he threw it up in the air and a burst of light came from the ball as Electivire emerged, looking confused and tired.

"I'm sorry Electivire," Paul said apologetically. "I just couldn't stop thinking about our battle with Trip."

The young man walked over to the window and opened the curtains back. Electivire followed behind him as they looked over Aspertia City. The city looked deserted as there were hardly any people walking around. The lights illuminated the streets and it's many buildings. It was a small town, though Veilstone City was an even smaller town. In the horizon, sat a red building with a sign the read "trainer's school and gym". It was a small building with a school feeling hence the brick walls and pointy roof.

"Well, our challenge awaits us," Paul almost whispered. "Hey, Electivire. I know I said I would "deal with you later" but I have been thinking… that battle was just as a shock to you as it was to me, am I correct?"

Electivire wanted to appear strong as he hated to be seen as weak, however mulling over his trainer's words, he hung his head in sadness. Paul noticed it as he heard a depressed sigh coming from his Pokemon.

"Yeah, I understand," Paul said. "You want to beat him, don't you?"

Electivire nodded his head as he pumped his fists in confidence.

"Me to," the young man said as he walked back to bed. "If you work harder, I will work harder. We can beat him. I promise you."

The next morning, Paul stood outside the Pokemon Center, semi confident and ready to tackle on his next gym challenge. He walked a few blocks to get to the trainer's school. Still nervous from last night, he tried his best to keep his best poker face, caring not to show any emotion. However, the closer the school was, the more Paul began to feel a cold sweat coming on. His heart began to beat faster and faster. ' _Man, I should have trained Archen when I could. However I think it would do OK. It's got good moves. Electivire has break break and I could always count on him to perform the way I'd want him to…'_ he thought as he finally reached the doorway of the school.

Paul took a deep breath as he proceeded to go in. It was a very small hallway filled with young trainers milling about. The classrooms themselves were full and kids were paying close attention to what was being said. Being an experienced trainer, Paul rolled his eyes as he gave a rough smile. He then looked up at the end of the hallway and saw what appeared to be the way to the battlefield. He ran, not caring that he knocked over some younger students on the way. However, Paul noticed someone coming towards him, not looking straight ahead. The two bumped into each other as they both fell to the floor.

"Hm, what a bother," the other trainer, who looked to be around Paul's age, said under his breath while getting up. "A trainer who can't read the 'don't run' signs."

"You were the one not paying attention," Paul scowled. "You're so pathetic."

This other trainer had long blue hair, a bit similar to Paul's, and had his white shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. He was taller than Paul and possibly might be a little bit older than him.

"Where's the gym leader?" Paul demanded more than asked.

'You are looking at him," the gym leader replied. "I'm Cheren, nice to meet you. I'm the Aspertia City gym leader."

"Well then, I'm Paul and I'm from Veilstone City, " Paul proceeded to announce. "And I challenge you to a gym battle!"

"Veilstone City? In the Sinnoh reigon? Oh…," Cheren started to say while letting out a light chuckle. "I've had three different trainers from Veilstone City battle me yesterday. The first challenger had an Empoleon and a Dewott, the second challenger brought only her Raichu and the third challenger used only his Infernape. They all won, of course."

As soon as Cheren mentioned an infernape and that the trainer who used it was male, Paul started to feel nervous again. His heart began to beat faster as he had memories of his Sinnoh league defeat at the hands of a certain friendly trainer and his infernape. ' _Don't tell me he is also in Unova as well. I do not want to deal with him. He's not a bad trainer, I just want to put that part of my life behind me'_ Paul thought as he shook his head to snap out of it. ' _Again, I'm here so that I could be stronger. Who cares about the other trainers?'_

"...and I shall be number four then!" Paul said with confidence.

The gym battle was about to begin as the two opponents stood on opposite sides of the field. Like the battlefield at the laboratory, this battlefield was also a plain dirt field with a pokeball symbol in the middle, however it had no bleachers for anyone to sit. The referee this time was a grown man with a white pokeball sweater and green shorts.

"Welcome to the Aspertia City gym!" the battle judge began to announce. "The battle will be between Cheren the gym leader and Paul the challenger. The battle will be two-on-two and will end when one side is unable to continue. Furthermore only the challenger allowed to substitute their Pokémon. It has been determined that Paul gets the first move. Now begin!"

"Archen, standby for battle!" Paul said as he threw his pokeball in the air.

A burst of light came from the pokeball as Archen appeared from the shadow. With an ear shattering screech, the bird Pokemon assumed a fighting stance.

"Patrat, come on out!" Cheren said as he also threw his pokeball in the air.

That same burst of light came from the gym leader's pokeball as the figure of a chipmunk appeared. When the light disappeared, there stood a brown makreet like Pokemon with big red eyes. Paul grimaced at the chipmunk as he pulled out his Pokedex to scan it.

"Patrat, the scout Pokemon," the Pokedex explained. "Extremely cautious, one of them will always be on the lookout, but it won't notice a foe coming from behind."

"Alright then," Paul started to command as he put away his Pokedex. "Archen, use dragon pulse!"

Archen started by opening its mouth and breathing out a large blue wave of energy towards the opponent. It did so while letting out a very loud screech that startled the gym leader's Patrat. Before Cheren could even command the scout Pokemon to even attack, the dragon pulse hit dead on, flinging the patrat and causing it to slide ten feet on the ground.

"Patrat, use tackle now!" Cheren commanded.

"Counter with ancientpower!" Paul also commanded to Archen.

At breakneck speed, the patrat ran towards it's opponent, ready to execute the perfect tackle attack, however, Paul's Archen readied its own attack by using its energy to create small rocks around it. It then used its wings to fling the rocks forward, directly hitting Patrat in its tracks as well as hitting the floor. As the dust cleared, the chipmunk Pokemon was lying there, unable to move.

"Patrat is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Archen is the winner!"

Paul chuckled as he returned Archen back to its pokeball. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was no longer nervous about the battle. ' _Hmph, this battle sure is useless. Getting beat by my inexperienced fossil Pokemon? Heh!'_ he thought as he took out his second pokeball.

"Electivire, standby for battle!" Paul said with a smile, throwing his pokeball in the air.

That same burst of light came as Electivire emerged, once again assuming a fighting stance.

"Lilipup, come on out!" the gym leader said as he also threw his second pokeball.

After the bursting light simmered from the ball capsule, the figure of a puppy dog emerged. There appeared a very small dog Pokemon with shaggy fur, growing at Paul's Electivire. Paul once again took out his Pokedex to scan the Pokemon in question.

"Lilipup, the puppy Pokemon," the Pokedex explained. "Though it is a very brave Pokémon, it's also smart enough to check its foe's strength and avoid battle."

"Let's see just how brave you are," Paul snickered. "Electivire, brick break!"

"Lilipup, use bite!" Cheren also commanded.

With style and speed, the puppy Pokemon opened its mouth as it ran towards Electivire with sharp fangs, ready to execute a bite attack. However, Electivire was not phased by the small Pokemon's attempt to attack as it did not move, not one bit. As the lilipup jumped to finish the attack, Electivire proceeded to execute a swift chop. The force of the brick break was so great, it sent the smaller Pokemon flying back and hitting a wall. It then fell off the wall, limp and unable to battle.

"Lilipup is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Electivire is the winner! Which means the match goes to the challenger!"

"Wow, it must be a Veilstone thing I guess," Cheren remarked as he walked toward Paul with a badge in hand. "Well, you earned it. I present to you the Basic Badge."

It was a purple badge with the design that was similar to a spine of a book. Paul took the badge and proceeded to toss it up and down on his left hand.

"The weakest leader I ever fought," Paul remarked as he began to leave. "This basic badge is stronger than you."


	5. A Hicktown Convention

Afternoon started to set in as Paul and Electivire exited gym feeling a bit more confident. As they approached the front, they took in a deep breath in and began to head towards their next destination. As they started to walk towards the Pokemon center, Paul felt his Xtransceiver vibrate in his pocket followed by its muffled ringing. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily as he quickly pulled the device from his pocket to answer it. ' _It's probably going to be her...'_ he thought as he pressed the green button.

"What?" Paul hissed in an annoyed tone.

"Hey, Paul!" Jen's voice casually said on the other line. "It's been a while since we left, huh? How many gym badges have you won? I won two of them!"

"It's really none of your business, you see?" Paul snapped as he was getting ready to hang up the call. "Now what do you want?"

"Hmph, that's code for 'zeeeeerooooo. You'd so better get that badge!'" Jen chuckled lightly. "Anyway, I'm calling because Miki wanted us to meet on the lookout in Aspertia City. It is behind the Pokemon Center."

Paul lowered his eyebrow as he heavily sighed. "On my way…" he said as he hung up.

' _I wonder what she wants…'_ he thought as he began to walk to the lookout. However, as he walked, he looked to his side and realized that Electivire was nowhere to be found. Paul growled as he looked behind him and on both sides. After scanning the area, he found his Pokemon near a flight of stairs by the Pokemon Center. However, he wasn't alone. The same electabuzz from yesterday was seen with him, except one of her bows weren't tied to her antennas. She looked up at Electivire with a blue ribbon in her hand as she lifted her hand fo him to grab it.

' _That lame-o electabuzz again?'_ Paul ran towards the pair as he growled under his breath. At that time, Electivire was trying his best to tie the ribbon on to Ellie's left antenna, however it came out lopsided compared to the perfectly tied ribbon on the right side. As Paul was running, he heard a high pitched male voice coming in the same direction. When he looked ahead, he saw a young man, who looked around twelve, running towards him with a fire monkey Pokemon.

"Outta my way, outta my way!" the young man yelled before he slammed into Paul.

When they collided, Paul fell on the floor while the other trainer was trying his hardest to stand up. The purple haired man stood up quickly as he growled in anger. He dusted himself off quickly while the other trainer stood up. He was a shorter trainer with spiky green hair and matching shorts and a white t-shirt. His Pokemon came by his side, holding what looked like a messenger bag. Paul took out his Pokedex and scanned the fire monkey.

"Infernape, the Flame Pokemon, and the evolved form of Monferno," the Pokedex explained. "It uses unique fighting moves with fire on its hands and feet. It will take on any opponent."

"I'll thank you and your infernape to stay out of my way," Paul growled as the other trainer got up on his feet.

"And a hello to you to…" the younger trainer said with an edge. "But it's no biggie. The name's Forrest and this is my partner Audrey. We're from Veilstone City!"

' _So THIS is the trainer with the infernape…'_ Paul thought as he chased all thoughts of nervousness from his mind.

"Oh! Is that an electabuzz?" Forrest exclaimed. "Where's my Pokedex?"

Paul watched as Forrest dug through his bag and pulled out a standard calculator. ' _You have to be kidding me'_ Paul thought as he shook his head side to side. The younger trainer proceeded to run towards Ellie and Electivire with the calculator in hand. Ellie looked up at the excited young man and stepped back as her eyes grew bigger in terror. She proceeded to scream as she ran up the steps, tripping along the way.

"Hey, pretty girl," a familiar voice said as it could be heard rushing down the stairs. "What happened?"

After two tries, Ellie made her way to the top of the first flight of stairs. Paul's heart sank as he saw none other than his rival, Trip coming down the stairs. However he had another Pokemon at his side. It had a bulky yellow body, two round hands that resemble boxing gloves and it's head had a tie on top, making it resemble a punching bag. The frightened electabuzz raised her arms up as a signal for Trip to pick her up.

"What's got you so scared?" Trip asked in a calming voice as he held Ellie in his arms, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. She held on tight while she whimpered and shook in fear. "It's gonna be okay. I got you. No one's gonna hurt you..."

"Is that electabuzz yours?" Forrest asked excitedly as he reached the top of the first flight of stairs.

"...maybe…" Trip answered as he grimaced at the younger trainer.

Forrest once again pulled out his small calculator and pointed it at the shaking electabuzz. He pushed many buttons, however, he grew more and more frustrated and nervous as he couldn't get the device the work as it should. Paul rolled his eyes as he pulled out his own Pokedex and came closer to the edge of the stairs.

"Hey genius, you're using a calculator!" Paul said as he raised his voice. "Pa-thet-ic."

"Ah! I knew that!" Forrest said as he frantically got out his real pokedex. "I was just fooling around."

However, his Pokedex was a lot different than Paul's. It was a purple device that resembled a handheld system with twin screens and a slide-out scanner to the right.

"Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon and the evolved form of Elekid, " a robotic female voice explained. "It windmills its arms to slightly boost its punches. Foes have been known to escape in the meantime."

While, Forrest scanned the frightened electabuzz, Paul proceeded to use his own Pokedex to scan the mysterious yellow Pokemon that was standing by Trip's side, waving hello.

"Makuhita, the Guts Pokemon," the Pokedex explained. "It toughens its body by slamming into thick trees. Many snapped trees can be found near its nest."

"Now that you know what an electabuzz is, could you please get lost?" Trip asked sternly as he sighed in frustration. "You're scaring Ellie."

Paul rolled his eyes as he motioned for his Electivire to follow him. However, as they were about to leave, they saw the rest of the group, running towards him. Jen, Marine with Raichu perched on her shoulder and a taller girl who looked similar to Jen all stopped in front of the steps as they stood beside Paul.

"Guys, I'd like to introduce you to my older sister, Matilda," Jen said as she pointed to the taller girl next to her as well as a large turtle Pokemon standing next to her. "This is her partner, Torterra."

"Eh, just call me Millie," she requested. "No need to be formal."

Paul lifted up his Pokedex and proceeded to scan the large turtle.

"Torterra, the Continent Pokémon and the evolved form of Grotle," the Pokedex explained. "Some Pokémon are born on a Torterra's back and spend their entire life there."

Paul slid his Pokedex in his pocket as he looked more closely at the taller girl. She had medium length brown hair with a brown turtle next tank top and a sand colored skirt. She seemed awfully familiar but the young man couldn't put his finger on it. ' _I swear I have seen her before…'_ he thought as he grimaced at the group.

"Well butter my buns and call me a biscuit, look who's here!" Millie exclaimed as she approached Paul. "I reckon you're that guy that done beat me in the Sinnoh league two years ago! Paul right?"

' _Ah that's where I remember her from!'_ Paul thought as he finally remembered who she was. Millie was a trainer he had battled with in the first round of the Sinnoh league. He had swept her team three to nothing and won his match with flying colors. ' _However, how could she be so happy about that? Shouldn't she be bitter? Some people are so confusing!"_.

"...are you still holding on to that lame-o torterra?" Paul remarked as he smirked. "You should have known better from our match two years ago."

"Sure am, Paul. We may have lost but we have a tight bond. Right Torrie?" Millie asked while she looked around.

However, she noticed that Torrie was nowhere to be found. "Y'know, Torrie was here a minute ago. So I have no idea where that green rascal could have run off to!" Millie said as she grew worried.

Paul noticed on the top of the first set of stairs, Trip still stood there, holding Ellie and his arms while Makuhita stood beside him. However, he also noticed Millie's torterra trying to climb its way up the stairs. From the way it kept trying to get Trip's Pokemon's attention, it seemed as if it wanted to play with them. However, just like with Forrest, Ellie shook and whimpered in fear at the sight of the giant turtle trying to get near her.

"Get lost!" Trip yelled as he attempted to shove Torrie away using his foot.

"Hey, you can't do that to my torterra!" Millie shouted as she pulled out a pokéball from her pocket. "Return, partner!"

A bright red light came from her pokéball as the turtle was returned back to his ball. Trip rolled his eyes while coming down the stairs with both Pokemon in tow. He made quiet shush noises to calm an almost crying electabuzz as he reached the bottom of the steps.

"Look, these aren't the Sinnoh region boonies," Trip asserted as fustration was mounting in his voice. "Some of us do not appreciate people or Pokemon getting in our faces. So keep your stupid torterra on a leash and we won't have any problems okay?"

"...and you," the frustrated young man said as he pointed to Forrest. "Try picking up a current pokedex next time so you don't like more like a hick than you already are."

Paul clenched his fists in anger while he was shaking. ' _I wish I could just smack this guy..'_ he thought as he looked over at Electivire, who was also clenching his fists as well. Paul placed his left hand on Electivire's shoulder as a way of comforting him while they saw their rival walk past them. However, Trip stopped as he glanced over at Paul and Electivire before beginning to head on his way.

"I recommend putting a muzzle on your electivire" he gruffly under his breath.

Electivire growled louder as he tried to approach the young man, not really caring that Ellie was in his arms. However, Paul placed his arm in front of him and shook his head.

"You shut up!" Paul yelled. "We will not lose to you again, you'll see!"

"Look Paul, I don't have the time nor the energy to argue with a low class trainer like yourself," Trip said gruffly as he began to leave. "I'm done with this hick convention. Goodbye."

With that, Trip headed towards the pier where he proceeded to head home for the afternoon. Paul returned Electivire to his pokéball while he also began to walk away. He didn't care about what the others were going to do, he just wanted out of that situation. 'This was a huge waste of time' he thought as he headed towards Route 19. ' _Nonetheless, I will find the next town on my own._ '


	6. Paul Meets the Family

The sky darkened as dusk began to settle. After walking and training on Route 20, Paul eventually made it to the next town which was Floccesy Town. It was a very small town and not many houses, much like Veilstone City. There wasn't even a gym in sight as well. ' _Well this city is useless'_ he thought as he proceeded to head into the Pokémon Center. After getting his room key, he headed down the long hallway to the last room to the right.

Like his routine from last night, right after he shut the door behind him, he proceeded to throw is slingback and his Xtransceiver on the floor, along with his jacket and undershirt. Unlike last night, he got down on the floor on his back and proceeded to do sit-ups instead of push-ups. ' _So I wonder if there is a gym in the next town…'_ he thought as he pushed himself through the workout routine. ' _Maybe, I should call that girl. Maybe she could help me, but I don't really want to talk to anyone, not after what happened this afternoon!'_.

While he was doing his sit-ups, Paul glanced over at the Xtransceiver lying next to the other items he threw on the ground. As he was approached his fiftieth rep, he sat up and allowed the sweat to drip from his forehead. ' _I guess… fine, I will call her. I do want to know where my next gym battle will be and she knows the way'_ he thought as he snatched the Xtransceiver from the ground and sighed heavily. He scrolled through the list of names on the screen and waited for a response.

After a few rings, a clicking sound could be heard. "Paul is that you?" Miki said sarcastically on the other line. "What happened to 'I'm certainly not going to be asking you for anything. So this device is pretty much useless to me' huh?"

"You're not funny," Paul retorted as his anger started to rise. "Where were you? I wasted my time with a bunch of dumb trainers and their Pokémon. One was using a calculator instead of a Pokédex and you guys think _I'm_ a low-class trainer? And Trip… he makes me so mad…"

Paul clenched his fists as he shook in anger. The thought of his rival and everything he had said to him made him very angry. He picked up his coat that was laying next to him on the floor and threw it has hard as he can against the wall. He huffed and puffed as he was trying his best to calm down.

"Yo Paul, you need to chill," Miki said as she tried to calm him down. "I had a challenger-er-I meant a challenge at the tower so I was a bit late, no biggie. All I did was show the guys some of my Pokémon on my uncle's ranch. How about I show you my Pokémon tomorrow? It may give you some inspiration for your Pokémon team, y'know?"

"A challenger?" Paul asked as he stood up from the floor. "Are you some type of gym leader or something?"

"I said CHALLENGE Paul, not _a challenger_ ," Miki retorted. "Man, you're deaf…"

"Yeah, whatever," he snapped. "Look, whatever you want to show me, show it."

"I wish I could today but I am at Tristian's place now," she explained. "How about we meet up at the front of the Pokémon Center where you're at… around 7:30?"

"Why so early?"

"I just wanted to do it early that's all. The reason isn't any of your business. So, I'll see you in Floccesy Town, g'night."

With that, she hung up the Xtransceiver for the night. Paul felt surprised as he just stared the device. Normally, he would be the one to abruptly end a call however this wasn't the case. ' _I know what I heard. I'm not stupid'_ Paul thought as he crawled into bed. ' _Maybe she could be useful to me after all…'_

~.~

The next morning, Paul waited outside the Pokémon Center for his unwanted companion. The sun was set to rise soon as 7:30 almost was approaching. He waited impatiently, hoping that she would get there on time, as he paced back and forth. ' _Where is she? I know Nuvema Town isn't that far away'_ he thought as he sat down for a while. The wind was slowly starting to pick up and the temperature was on the chilly side.

As Paul was beginning to enjoy his moment of peace and quiet, he heard the low screeching of a flying creature up ahead. He looked up and saw reddish orange moth-like Pokémon with a red bow on each horn on the side of its' head, six wings that resemble the sun's rays and a white furry head with blue eyes hovering over him. Paul's immediately took out his Pokédex from his pocket and scanned the mysterious Pokémon.

"Volcarona, the Sun Pokémon, and the evolved form of Larvesta," the Pokédex explained. "When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun."

' _Hm, I think I am going to catch this one'_ Paul thought as he took out a Pokeball from his pocket. "Now go, Pokeball!" he said with confidence as he threw it towards the Sun Pokémon.

However, it proved to fail as a light red beam appear, signaling that this volcarona belonged to another trainer. The Pokémon proceeded to mock Paul as it used its voice to imitate a 'nana' sound while still circling around. As he was about to get out another Pokeball, a familiar voice could be heard from behind.

"Volcarona, over here!"

Paul turned around and saw Miki and her makuhita walking casually towards him, with her volcarona flying towards her. The moth perched itself on her shoulder as they both approached the young man.

"Y'know Paul, if you gonna catch a Pokémon, you gotta battle it with your own Pokémon," Miki explained. "Basic stuff…"

"Whatever," he hissed. "I'll thank you and your volcarona to get out of my face."

"Am I detecting some salt here?" she said sarcastically. "Don't get snippy with me because you failed to catch a volcarona. You shoulda stopped when you saw she already belonged to someone. That someone was me."

"Leave me alone!"

"Hey Paul, I was just messing with you. I sent Volcarona out to go look for you, I didn't think you would try to catch her. I'm sorry. Ready to see my Pokémon?"

Paul turned to her as he loosened his anger towards her. He wasn't used to the sarcastic resorts constantly but it would take some time for him to get used to if he were to hang around this girl. ' _She could be useful to me in my quest to become stronger, it is just that she can be so annoying…. however, I will see her stupid Pokémon. They probably are all weak'_ he thought with a smile.

"I'm ready to see how useless the rest of your Pokémon are," Paul said with a smirk.

"Well come on then!" Miki and Makuhita ran in front of Paul as he followed them the rest of the way. "We're off to see my useless Pokémon!"

~.~

The pair finally arrived at Floccesy Ranch. It was a small farm with a few houses and a lot of different Pokémon. Paul looked around and saw a whole bunch of blue sheep Pokémon, hanging around different areas of the ranch. They were small but very fluffy sheep with cream colored wool and a flashing light shining on the end of their tails. Curious to see what Pokémon they were, Paul stopped to pull out his Pokédex and scan them.

"Mareep, the Wool Pokémon," the Pokédex explained. "When cold weather increases static electricity, its wool doubles in size and the tip of its tail glows slightly."

"Done scanning those mareep, Paul?" Miki asked playfully.

"Oh, you be quiet!" Paul snapped back as he continued to follow. "Are those mareep yours?"

"Naw man, most of these guys are wild," she answered. "But wouldn't it be cool they were mine, though? I'd have a whole army of mareep to take over Unova haha!"

' _What a weirdo..'_ Paul thought as he gave a slight smirk. After passing by a few houses dotted with mareep, it seems as if they finally reached their destination. They stood in front of a large light brown house, with a side yard full of different Pokémon. The area around it was rather plain and grassy like the rest of the ranch, however, it didn't have that country feeling. To Paul, it felt more like a mansion out on the field.

While he glanced over at the Pokémon in the yard, Paul started to walk over to the area with his Pokédex in tow. Until he felt a tug on the right sleeve of his jacket.

"Hold on Paul," Miki said as she headed towards the door. "I'm not sure how my Pokémon would react to strangers. So don't go off without me."

While Paul waited, Miki went up to the front door and proceeded to knock. He slowly approached the porch area as a few minutes went by. Then, the doorknob twisted and the door slowly opened. However, the one who answered the door wasn't human but was a Pokémon. It was a humanoid Pokémon with pink cannons for arms. Its' entire body was a mix of dark and light pinks and had light pink flames on not only the head but its' tail as well.

"Hm, that looks like a magmortar," Paul quietly whispered as he pulled out his Pokédex and proceeded to scan the Pokémon. "However it is all pink."

"Magmortar, the Blast Pokémon and the evolved form of Magmar," the Pokédex explained. "When shooting 3,600 degrees F fireballs from its arms, its body takes on a whitish hue from the intense heat."

"Yo Maggie, is Uncle Brent around?" Miki asked.

Maggie shook her head no as she shrugged her shoulders up.

"Ah, he probably went to work," she said in an exasperated tone. "No matter, I'll show you my Pokémon anyway. Let's go!"

While Maggie went back inside, Miki took Paul to the right side of the house, where there was a huge white fence that blocked the yard area. While she jumped over the fence to greet her Pokémon, Paul's jaw dropped when he saw all the different Pokémon that hung out in that area. They all ran to greet their trainer. There were three bipedal dinosaur-like Pokémon that piled on top of her. One was dark grey and mostly resembled a rhinoceros. It had a bow on one of its horns and a small drill like snout. The other was aquamarine with silver plates and a long tail and horns protruding from it's plated armor on its head. Lastly, the third one resembled a pachycephalosaurus, as it was light red and black with a dome head that had spikes on the sides and stripes on its' wrists and legs.

Paul took out his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon one by one.

"Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon and the evolved form of Lairon," the Pokédex explained. "It claims an entire mountain as its own. The more wounds it has, the more it has battled, so don't take it lightly."

"Rhydon, the Drill Pokémon and the evolved form of Rhyhorn. Standing on its hind legs freed its forelegs and made it smarter. It is very forgetful, however."

"Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokémon and the evolved form of Cranidos. If two were to smash their heads together, their foot-thick skulls would keep them from fainting."

Paul slipped his Pokédex into his pocket as he stepped a little bit closer to the group. ' _Hm I remember some of these Pokémon but why are they different colors?'_ he thought to himself. ' _I thought rampardos was blue, not red! Also, that aggron looks a lot different than the one I used to own. That one is green...'_. Miki got herself off the floor as she signaled Paul to come closer. However, as he did just that, both her aggron and rhydon got behind their trainer, shaking in fear.

"I'm sorry, they're not used to strangers coming round here," she explained while she pointed to her Pokémon. "I know you scanned them but… this is my rhydon, Ray and this is my aggron, Arynn. Of course, you also met my rampardos, Amy. I have two others here but they are asleep."

The girl then walked up to Paul, getting out a handful of red spiked berries that looked similar to tomatoes from her pocket and put them in his hands.

"What are these?" Paul asked.

"They are tamato berries," Miki answered. "They are very spicy but my Pokémon love them. Try feeding it to them. They may warm up to you."

Paul shook his head as he proceeded to walk up to the gate with the berries in hand. He then moved his handful in front of him but enough for the Pokémon to grab the berries from his hand. Amy took an immediate interest as she took a bunch from his hand and ate them happily. Ray and Arynn proceeded to stare at the remaining berries that were in his hand. It seemed as if they were unsure if he was safe or not. ' _This is pretty lame…'_ he thought as he tried his best to keep his poker face intact.

Just as they started to come closer, Paul could feel the sound of buzzing in his ear as he slightly turned his head. He then jumped back as Volcarona swooped down and took the rest of the berries from his hand.

"Oh come on now, Volcarona," Miki said in an annoyed tone. "They weren't for you, y'know…"

However, all was well as Arynn came up to Paul and proceeded to lick his hand as a sign of acceptance. He closed his eyes tight as he was trying his hardest not to cringe inside. He wasn't used to Pokémon being very friendly towards him or showing him any affection. Not even Electivire was known to be friendly towards his trainer. As Paul pulled his hand back, he stared at the ground while he walked away from the gate.

"I'm sorry, my Pokémon can get friendly at times, especially when they get to know ya," Miki explained as she stood beside Paul. "However…. I wonder, and you don't have to answer me, but, you… haven't had affection shown towards you that much, haven't you?"

However, instead of snapping at her for asking such a question, Paul turned to her poker-faced. As if, he had an answer in mind but did not know how to frame it.


	7. Interesting Chat

"I just… think it is a waste of time," Paul started to say calmly. "It makes people and Pokémon become slackers. Believe me, I've dealt with it."

"So what you're sayin' is that affection makes people and Pokémon...slackers?" Miki asked as she came closer to him.

Paul began to take two steps ahead and turn his back towards the girl while crossing his arms. "Yes…" he said coldly. "Have a problem with it?"

"Naw man, you're not far from the truth," she started to say.

"Huh?" Paul quickly turned around as his jaw dropped. ' _Is she actually… agreeing with me?'_ he thought to himself as he tried to shake off the surprise.

"Look, Paul, it's true that spoiling your Pokémon can make em feel entitled," Miki explained. "Sometimes they can be a pain in the butt and you might get hurt. But, it can also bring you closer to your Pokémon as well. You can still be affectionate with your Pokémon but also inflict tough love as well…"

Paul mulled on those words as he looked up to the clear skies. Thoughts of his past training came back, of how he used to be very hard on his Pokémon in order to make them powerful. ' _I wish she wouldn't make me bring up such memories…'_ he thought as he closed his eyes, letting the gentle wind brush against his face. ' _I thought she was going to give me some lecture about how I should be more friendly, however, if you put it that way… what she said makes sense.'_

He then turned to Miki and stared at her for a few minutes while putting his thoughts together. ' _There are so many questions I have for her, but I need to frame them properly_ '. The girl turned her head as she was confused as to why Paul kept staring.

"Paul?"

"...I have some questions for you," Paul said coldly.

"Okay… ask away," Miki said as she signaled Paul to walk with her around the perimeter of the ranch.

The young man proceeded to follow closely as they began to walk towards the nearby woods near the house. "Okay, for starters, why are some of your Pokémon different colors?" he asked. "Like I thought magmortar was red, but yours was pink."

"Oh yes, I do own some 'shinies' as we call them," she explained. "If you look to your 'dex. you'll know that Pokémon also have a shiny version. They are extremely difficult to catch and they take forever to breed. I've had these Pokémon since I was ten and some, like Ellie, I've had when I was much younger. Pink was my favorite color, so the pink shinies I hunted them down like crazy. My drapion, I got from a shelter though."

"You own a drapion?!" Paul asked in shock. "I also owned one as well! In fact, when I saw your Pokémon, it reminded me of the ones I raised for the Sinnoh league."

"Yes, she should be around here somewhere," the girl answered. "I raised her from a skorupi. The original trainer didn't want her so they dumped her off at the Pokémon shelter, as the same with some of my others."

"Which Pokémon did you get from the shelter?"

"My drapion, aggron, rhydon, lairon and ursaring all came from the shelter. I raised them when they were their pre-evolved forms and we have been together ever since."

Paul nodded as he was processing the information he was getting. ' _She seems to really love her Pokémon'_ he thought to himself. ' _I guess I could be more patient with mine. I still want to catch the strongest ones I could and it looks like she had that similar mindset as well!'_ While walking, Paul looked to his left and noticed Makuhita playing alongside the other Pokémon.

"I wonder… does that makuhita belong to you or Trip?" he asked.

"She's mine," Miki answered with confidence. "However, Tristian does help me care for some of my Pokémon just as my aunt and uncle does at times."

He once again nodded, this time in disgust at the thought of his rival. ' _He was a totally different person with that electabuzz…'_ he thought. ' _It's so weird, however, I guess he is either weird or he and this girl are close'._

"You know, what is the deal with him and that electabuzz?" Paul asked with a hint of frustration in his voice. "I thought you said that she didn't like men…"

"She doesn't," Miki started to say. "But she's known Tristan for some time. He's helped my aunt and I care for her since she was an elekid. However, even then, it took time for her to warm up to him. But as she opened her heart to him, he began to open his heart to her. They have gotten closer ever since."

As Paul was about to ask another question, the pair saw the bushes in front of them rustle back and forth. He took a step forward as a yellow and black Pokémon scurried from the bushes and appeared in front. It was a small canine Pokémon that stood on two black feet, red eyes had a yellow tail and a blue collar. While the Pokémon waved its fists as a defensive stance, Paul took out his Pokedex from his pocket to scan the mysterious creature.

"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon," the Pokedex explained. "It uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others."

"Interesting Pokémon," Paul started to say. "Is it yours?"

"No," Miki answered. "There are wild Pokémon living in the area and a few of the riolu around here have made Floccesy Ranch their home. Most of the ones I've seen are very stubborn."

' _I think I will catch it then!'_ Paul thought as he reached inside his slingback and pulled out a Pokéball. He also reached into his jacket pocket to grab another Pokéball and proceeded to throw it.

"Electivire, standby for battle!" Paul said confidently while he threw his Pokéball.

That same burst of light came as Electivire emerged, once again assuming a fighting stance proudly.

"I need you to help me catch that riolu!" Paul commanded as he pointed to the riolu by the bushes, while also holding the empty Pokéball. "You ready?"

Electivire shook his head while he squinted his eyes at Paul's Pokéball. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head side to side and stared directly at Paul. The young man looked up at his Pokémon, wondering what was wrong. ' _What is his problem?'_ he thought as he tried to shake off the confusion and call out an attack.

"Use thunder punch!" Paul commanded.

However, Electivire did not listen as he was too consumed with Paul's Pokéball. Paul put both hands far out on his sides as an impatient gesture towards his Pokémon. All the while, Electivire slowly approached Paul, snatching the Pokéball from his hands and holding it up to his face.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked impatiently while trying to retrieve the empty Pokéball. "Let's go, Electivire!"

"Um… Paul," Miki started to say. "I think Electivire is trying to tell you that you need to make your Pokéball bigger…"

' _Oh no!'_ Paul noticed that the Pokéball was in its' travel sized state instead of its' standard size. In order to catch a wild Pokémon, the Pokéball must be in its' standard size in order for the capture to be successful. He quickly took the ball from his Pokémon's hands and quickly tried to find the button that made the Pokéball grew. ' _Where is it, where IS it?'_ he thought to himself as he grew more nervous and anxious. He didn't even hear Electivire grunting impatiently as he tried to locate the button. Eventually, he pressed the white button on the empty ball as the size grew bigger than what it was before. It finally grew bigger than the size of his palm.

However, as Paul was about to battle the wild Pokémon. he looked up to saw that the Pokémon had already escaped. He took a few steps forward towards the bush to try to locate the riolu. He scanned the area and pulled back some of the branches on the bush, however no cigar. ' _Drat!'_ he clenched his fists in frustration when he realized that he was too late and he once again failed at catching a Pokémon. ' _You know, if Electivire would have listened…'_ he thought as he turned around, fuming as well as his eyes were shut tight.

"Is _that_ how you catch a Pokémon?" a familiar voice asked from behind. "How pathetic."

Paul growled in frustration as he opened his eyes and saw his rival Trip standing a few feet behind him, along with the same electabuzz from earlier in his arms. However, Ellie was laughing in a cutesy manner, causing Electivire to blush and cross his arms in embarrassment, all the while narrowing his eyes as he turned to his trainer.

"Wait, you saw that?" Miki asked in shock.

"Sure did," Trip answered as he approached his friend. "It was not a pretty sight. Someone needs to go over the basics… badly."

Paul narrowed his eyes at the pair as he shook his head in frustration. ' _I really do not want to deal with these people. Not Trip and not that stupid electabuzz…'_ he thought as he attempted to leave, obviously disgusted.

"Whatever," Paul said coldly as he started to walk away. "I'm out of here. I can see this is going to be something I want no part in."

As Paul started to walk away, Electivire glanced over at Ellie, who gave him a smile and a slight chuckle. He uncrossed his arms as he gently patted the electabuzz on the head. Paul turned around and proceeded to get out a Pokéball from his pocket in an attempt to return his Pokémon back to his Pokéball.

"Paul wait!" Miki said as she approached the purple haired young man. "Aren't you going to apologize to Electivire?"

"Why should I?" he asked coldly. "It's his fault that we didn't catch any Pokémon, you know."

As soon as he heard that, Electivire slowly started to approach his trainer with his fists clenched and shrouded in electricity. He growled loudly as he towered over Paul, getting close to his face in an attempt to intimidate him. Paul's heart started to beat fast as he retained his best poker face. He wanted to show Electivire that he wasn't afraid as he stood there with a scowl, not backing down. He glanced over at his Pokémon's fists for a second, while still keeping his composure. ' _If he attacks me, then we will have problems…'_ he thought as he just stood there.

As the staring match progressed, Ellie broke free from Trip's arms and proceeded to run towards the pair, putting both hands on Electivire's forearm. Paul stood there in shock as he watched the electabuzz who was once shy now suddenly appearing to try to calm his Pokémon. She rubbed on his forearm as the electricity that surrounded Electivire's fists started to disappear. Not only that but he started to unclench his fists as well.

"Thanks, Ellie!" Miki said as she picked up the small electabuzz. "Paul, I think you may want to hash it out with Electivire before you do any gym challenge. However, your next gym challenge is in Virbank City."

"Thank you," Paul said calmly as he returned Electivire back to his Pokéball. "Also, thank you for showing me your Pokémon. I greatly appreciate it."

"Well… you are welcome to come back and see them again," she suggested. "I'm sure they will be happy to see you again."

With that, Paul waved goodbye as he smiled and went on his way to his next gym challenge in Virbank City.


	8. Complex Drama

The afternoon started to roll in as Paul had finally made his way to Virbank City. It was a big city with many buildings, shacks and a lot of smog in the air. There was so much smog that it was difficult for Paul to see anything in front of him. The only building he seemed the recognize through the smog was the Pokémon Center building which had a giant flashing P on the top. ' _I see the Pokémon Center, however, I'd like to find the gym'_ he thought as he proceeded to walk past the Pokémon Center.

While looking around, he saw a small white stand up sign that read "Pokémon GYM" in big purple letters and an arrow pointing right. Paul ran towards the sign and took an Immediate right into the large alleyway. When he turned into the corner, Paul noticed another sign pointing to a small shack-like building. In the same purple letters, it read "Pokémon GYM TEMPORARILY MOVED HERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE". He nodded as we went up towards the sign and up the stairs leading to the gym. However, just as he was about the open the door, the door handle quickly turned. The door quickly swung open and proceeded to hit Paul in the face, almost knocking him down.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a familiar voice said followed by the grunt of a Pokémon.

With the pain still ringing in his forehead, Paul opened his eyes and saw Forrest standing there with Audrey, his infernape, by his side.

"Look here, you!" Forrest started to say. "I'm going to be the strongest trainer ever! You'll see!"

Like that, Forrest and his Pokémon ran off down the alleyway. ' _What a weirdo…'_ he thought to himself as he shook his head. However, as he looked down, Paul noticed a black and green case with a Pokéball design in the middle laying there by his feet. ' _What's this?'_ he thought as he picked it up and opened it. As he opened it, he noticed there were two gym badges in it with a gap between the two. On the left side, there was a small fuzzy picture of Forrest and his infernape taped on the inside. However, Paul also noticed that not only did he acquire the basic badge from Aspertia City, but he had also won a badge that Paul had not seen before. It was a shiny green badge that was shaped like a leaf.

"Ugh! That kid forgot his badge!" a deep voice could be heard saying.

Paul looked up and he saw a tall man dark man, wearing a light yellow jumpsuit and cap. The man narrowed his grey eyes at the young man.

"Ah, you ain't the challenger," he remarked as he locked eyes on the badge case Paul was holding.

"Do I look like the kind of trainer that would forget his gym badge after winning a gym battle?" Paul asked in a standoffish tone.

"No, but you're holding his badge case," the tall man said. "You know him? He was the last challenger I had for this afternoon and I underestimated him. He's very dramatic, very twitchy and he won't shut up, but he's strong."

"Yeah, I know him… unfortunately," Paul answered as he shook his head. "He's some kid that's from the same town as me, that's all I know of him. However, are you the gym leader?"

"Yeah I'm the gym leader!" the man replied. "Where've you been? The name's Igloo."

Paul sighed in relief when he was for certain that he found the gym and its gym leader.

"I'm Paul from Veilstone City and I challenge you to a gym battle!" Paul announced.

"Ooo, darn man," Igloo started to say. "Look Paul, I know you took forever in a day to come here but Imma have to pass. You see, I'm acting as a sub for the original gym leader and I'm supposed to be filling in for another gym leader in Kanto. So I'm leaving tomorrow. Not sure when that other gym leader's coming back but it could be a month until she comes back from tour. That kid was my last battle."

' _Hm!'_ Paul scowled at the thought of not being able to win a badge, especially since he had been through a lot to come here. He looked forward to winning and it wasn't going to happen. ' _This was a huge waste of my time!'_ he thought as he shook his head and began to leave.

"But… if you want a badge...I got one," the gym leader said as he held up a purple squiggly badge in his right hand. "Take it. You're gonna need two badges to challenge the next gym from here."

Paul looked at the badge in hand. ' _If I take this badge, I could be done with this city and move on right away! However, I didn't win this badge by defeating this guy, so to me, it doesn't prove anything. This badge wasn't rightfully earned.'_ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes. ' _On the other hand, I only have one badge and I need two to go to the next town. However, this feels like a pity badge and I certainly do not need pity! I will just go to the gym in the next town and explain what happened if I cannot challenge that gym, then I will have to wait a month until the original gym leader comes back. Is that a risk I am willing to take?'_

"It is a very kind offer and I am tempted to accept," Paul started to say. "But, I can't accept. I want to win my badges by defeating gym leaders, I'll just scout ahead and hope they will take a chance on me."

"Hm… wise thinking Paul," Igloo said with a smirk. He handed the badge to the young man. "Can you give this badge to that kid? He was hollering about going to the Virbank Complex."

"Sure," Paul answered as he took the badge and left.

-.-

It took some time, but Paul finally found the Virbank Complex. It was a small industrial place with beams on top and workers sitting on them. There was also patches of grass and bushes to be seen as well but not as many. There weren't that many people on the ground beside from workers. ' _How am I going to find that kid?'_ Paul thought to himself as he proceeded to walk into the complex.

"Outta my way, outta my way, outta my way!" a familiar voice yelled before he slammed into Paul from behind.

Before he could react, Paul suddenly fell forward towards the ground as he felt the weight of someone else on top of him. He used his forearm as a brace so his head did not hit the concrete. However, he felt a slight pain everywhere else and had a small scrape on his arm. ' _Let me guess...it's him…'_ he thought as he proceeded to dust himself off and get up from the floor. The weight on his back quickly went away as well.

"Hey, stop bumping into me!" the voice said in a standoffish tone.

Paul quickly turned around to see Forrest and his infernape standing behind him.

"You were the one who bumped into me!" Paul asserted.

"Eh, whatever," Forrest said. "Because I'm going to be a Pokémon master!"

"Well, most Pokémon masters I know do not leave a gym without their gym badge," Paul said as he held up the Virbank gym badge along with Forrest's badge case. "Or their badge cases…"

Forrest's jaw dropped when he saw that Paul had both his badge and case in his hand. He quickly felt his pockets and sure enough, he realized that he forgot his case. He quickly went up to Paul and snatched both items from his hand.

"Hmph! Thief!" he yelled with a scowl. "You oughta be arrested!"

"Huh? I didn't steal anything," Paul retorted as he raised his voice in frustration. "You left it at the gym and I'm just bringing it back to you. You're welcome…"

"I know why you took it," Forrest started to say as he smirked. "You wanted to seem strong!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Paul yelled as he shook his fists at the green haired young man.

"I want to be stronger to," Forrest explained. "During my Sinnoh journey, I've been not only doing gym battles but I've done contests as well. When I came to Unova, I've been battling trainers and Pokémon like crazy. My goal is to be strong, as strong as Trip!"

' _Trip?'_ Paul thought of the first battle he ever had with Trip and how he lost miserably and brutally. How he made fun of him because of where he was from and his battling skills. He thought of him made Paul very upset as he clenched his fists in anger. ' _I'm pretty sure that Trip is a strong trainer, however, I wouldn't strive to be like him. He's just a stuck up person'_ Paul thought as he unclenched his fists. ' _Forrest just became a trainer two years ago. He doesn't know any better yet. He thinks he does'_.

"Well, I guess," Paul started to say. "However, I think you should be as strong as you can be, not like other trainers. You know?"

However, as Forrest was about to answer him, they heard a very loud rustling sound behind them. The young men both turned and started to run towards the sound, with Audrey following behind. They ran for about five minutes until they noticed that on the left side of the complex, a small-sized bush was shaking back and forth. They stopped and started to tiptoe quietly near the bush.

"Pokémon?" Paul whispered as he started to pull out his Pokédex in his left hand and a Pokéball in the right hand.

"Hey! I saw it first!" Forrest exclaimed as he and Audrey proceeded to walk in front of Paul.

"Ugh, no way!" Paul shouted while throwing up his Pokéball. "I haven't caught a Pokémon yet! Archen, standby!"

"Birdster! It's showtime!" Forrest also proceeded to throw a Pokéball in the air.

However, Paul looked over and noticed that Forrest's Pokéball looked different. It was light blue with a yellow X symbol in the middle. A red light emerged from Paul's Pokéball while a blue light emerged from Forrest's. The light disappeared after a few seconds as Archen emerged from the red light, assuming a battle stance. From the blue light, emerged a small grey bird Pokémon with a large white heart marking underneath its head and black stripes on its wings. Paul proceeded to pull out his Pokédex and scan the bird.

"Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon," the Pokédex explained. "These Pokémon live in cities. They are accustomed to people. Flocks often gather in parks and plazas."

"What's that Pokéball you have?" Paul asked as he lowered his Pokédex.

"Oh, this is a quick ball!" Forrest exclaimed. "You can use it to catch Pokémon early into the battle. I used it to catch Birdster and I didn't need to battle it first so it worked better. Jen told me about it when we went to Floccesy Ranch, however, she also said that they don't work well on stronger Pokémon and that it works best when the battle begins. I bought it at the Pokémart."

The bushes were still shaking until a Pokémon came out. It was a small yellow and black striped Pokémon with two legs and arms and a body that was shaped like a plug. Its horns resembled the prongs to a power plug. Shaking his head, proceeded to return Archen back to its Pokéball and out the ball back into his pocket.

"Cool Pokémon!" Forrest exclaimed as he ran towards the mysterious Pokémon. "Where's my Pokédex?"

"It's just an elekid," Paul said in an annoyed tone as his slide his Pokédex in his pocket. "No use scanning it."

While Forrest was looking through his pockets to find his Pokédex, Paul noticed Audrey coming up behind her trainer, holding a long grey device which appeared to be a Pokédex. Forrest turned around and took the device from his Pokémon. ' _At least he got the newest model…'_ Paul thought to himself as he gave a slight smile.

"Thanks Audrey, you're the best," Forrest said as he hugged his infernape. "Ok time to see what Pokémon you are…"

Forrest proceeded to left up his Pokédex to scan the mysterious Pokémon.

"Elekid, the Electric Pokémon," the Pokédex explained. "Spinning its arms around to generate electricity makes the area between its horns shine light blue."

"I want to catch that Pokémon if you don't mind," Forrest asked.

"Go for it," Paul replied. "I already have an electric type. So no need for another. There's something I have to do anyway, carry on."

Paul walked away from the trio as he proceeded to take out a Pokéball from his pants pocket. Once he stopped near the exit, he held the ball away from him and pressed the white button in the middle, letting out his Pokémon. As the right light went away, Electivire emerged still upset from earlier. He glanced over at Paul before turning his head the opposite direction and crossing his arms.

"Are you still mad?" Paul asked as he came closer to his Pokémon.

Electivire answered with a low 'hmph' sound while shaking his head yes.

"Are you upset that we didn't catch a Pokémon?" Paul asked sternly while lowering his eyebrow. "You know, if you would have just fired off attacks like I said, we would have gotten a Pokémon. You see, Electivire, I don't think you understand your role. I command the attacks, you fire off the attacks. Do you want to beat Trip? Remember our promise?"

Electivire turned and stared at his trainer with his arms still crossed. Paul started to reminisce about the night before the Aspertia City gym battle. How he and Electivire promised that they were going to work harder. ' _If you work harder, I will work harder. We can beat him. I promise you'_. Those echoed in Paul's head as he stood his ground. Then, Paul's eyes got bigger as he looked towards the exit. ' _That electabuzz!'_ he thought as he narrowed his eyes. ' _Ever since that electabuzz came into the picture, Electivire hasn't been working hard'_ he thought as he shook his head. ' _Something must be done!'_

"I need you to forget about that little electabuzz okay?" Paul asked in a calm voice. "I know you think she's pretty but I need you to focus and if I want to be honest, she's been distracting you."

Electivire uncrossed his arms as he just stared at Paul. His red eyes narrowed as his left fist was shrouded in electricity. Paul was ready to be hit, however, Electivire instead punched the ground, causing it to shake. Paul was trying his best to keep his balance as the ground wobbled and shaken beneath him. ' _That was impressive!'_ Paul thought as he gasped in surprise. However, before he could say anything, the young man heard a high pitched giggling noise up ahead. Before he could look up, he also heard the sound of screaming along with something hitting the ground. Paul looked and he saw Ellie, on the ground trying to shake the dirt off of her fur.

"Figures…" Paul mumbled as he crossed his arms.

As Paul proceeded to approach Ellie, she looked up at him with terror in her eyes. She tried her best to back away from him as she ran behind Electivire and hid behind him.

"Look, little electabuzz," Paul said in a stern tone. "This is a conversation between me and Electivire. You're a nuisance! Go away!"

Electivire proceeded to place his body between Paul and Ellie, putting his arm right in front of the frightened electabuzz. It took awhile for Paul to register what was happening. Electivire was protecting Ellie from Paul. He shook in anger as his entire body was covered in electricity. Paul was not afraid, but rather he was surprised. 'I've never seen him so angry before. What did I do?' he thought to himself as he just stood there. Electivire growled at him, and it sounded like a motorboat.

"Hey what's going on?" Forrest could be heard asking as he approached Paul.

Ellie looked up at the larger Pokémon, seeming to be impressed with how powerful he was. She smiled as she proceeded to place her hands on Electivire's arm and squeezed it. This caused Electivire to stop growling and the electricity that surrounded his body disappeared. He turned to her as he nodded his head and held her hand. With Ellie in tow, Electivire used his tails to grab on to the beam that was over the complex and used it to hoist himself up. He then leaped off the bean and out of the complex. Paul and Forrest ran out of the complex and looked to their right. From there, they spotted Ellie and Electivire getting on a boat with a sign in front of it that read 'BOATS TO CASTELIA CITY. LAST BOAT LEAVES VIRBANK CITY AT 20:00'.

With no time to waste, Paul waved to Forrest as he began to attempt to catch the last boat. The sky was almost darkening and Paul was getting tired. However, this was a new place and Electivire could get lost. Paul waited in line anxiously for the next boat to arrive.


End file.
